Boy charged for posting fight video on Facebook
Mother says police and school could have manage incident in a better way
CBC News
Posted: Dec 28, 2012 5:21 PM ET
Last Updated: Dec 28, 2012 6:28 PM ET
Schools and police say they are trying to be more sensitive to charges of cyberbullying. (CBC)
Related
Related Stories
A 13-year-old boy from Mississauga, Ont., has been charged with mischief after posting a video of two girls fighting on his Facebook page.
Police said the boy was charged because one of the girls in the video was being cyberbullied.
"That caused the victim to basically not be able to use her own Facebook [page] without feeling bullied or stressed," said Peel Regional Police spokesperson Const. Erin Cooper.
Schools and police forces across the country are being extra-sensitive to accusations of cyberbullying in the wake of some recent incidents, including the death of 15-year-old Amanda Todd of Port Coquitlam, B.C.
Todd committed suicide in October after being blackmailed, bullied online, and physically assaulted.
"Cyberbullying is definitely something that's creeping up," said Cooper.
But the Mississauga boy's mother told CBC News on Friday that her son is now being bullied by police and the local school board.
The incident that has caused such a furor took place on Dec. 17, when her son recorded a video of the fight which took place off school property — and then later posted it online.
Two days later he was called to the principal's office where he says he was arrested, handcuffed and put in a police cruiser.
"I started crying because I was so shocked," the boy said. "And then we walked out the front door to the car, and he put me in handcuffs."
Police couldn't contact his mother right away so, he says, he was put in a cell. "I was, like, really scared."
His mother believes police and the school went too far.
"If they wanted the outcome to be beneficial — or a learning process for all, as a society as a whole — I think they could have managed it in a better way than going to this extreme," she said.
The boy, who can't be identified because of his age, was charged with mischief and will appear in court in January.
In the meantime, he has also been suspended from school for a month and will be transferred to another school.
Share Tools
Latest Toronto News Headlines
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denies using crack cocaine
- The mayor of Canada's largest city told a packed news conference that he doesn't use crack cocaine and isn't a crack addict — and new allegations surfaced Saturday involving Ford's brothers. more »
- Big-time lobbyists attended pricey Mammoliti bash
- Two of the most powerful lobbyists at city hall attended a $5,000-a-table fundraising soirée involving Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti, CBC News has learned, raising questions about whether all three people followed municipal rules governing their conduct. more »
- Blue Jays come up short against Orioles
- The Baltimore Orioles jumped out to another big early lead against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday at the Rogers Centre, and once again it held up as the O's won 6-5. more »
- Hockey Canada votes to ban bodychecking in peewee hockey
- Hockey Canada's board of directors voted to eliminate bodychecking from peewee-level hockey on Saturday in Charlottetown. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- 3 more suspects arrested in slaying of U.K. soldier
- British police investigating the savage killing of an off-duty soldier in London have arrested three more suspects. more »
- Hockey Canada votes to ban bodychecking in peewee hockey
- Hockey Canada's board of directors voted to eliminate bodychecking from peewee-level hockey on Saturday in Charlottetown. more »
- Neil Macdonald: How serious is Obama about curbing the drone surge?
- In a key speech this week, the U.S. president set out a host of supposed new safeguards for America's controversial practice of remote-controlled rough justice. But as Neil Macdonald writes, the underlying rationale for drone use has not fundamentally changed. more »
- Ontario man lost in Australian mountains has survival skills
- The sister of an Ontario man who disappeared in Australia's Snowy Mountains nearly two weeks ago says she remains hopeful he will be found, partly because of his training as a Canadian Forces reservist. more »
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denies using crack cocaine
- Man charged 20 years later in sexual assault of 9-year-old girl
- Executive committee calls on Ford to address crack video allegations
- Rob Ford fired chief of staff for telling mayor to 'get help'
- Alleged Ford crack video seller not responding to calls
- Toronto councillors say Ford scandal not over
- Big-time lobbyists attended pricey Mammoliti bash
- Read Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's full statement
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford fires chief of staff

Toronto traffic with Joan Chang